Over at Cinephile Paradiso I was ruminating on my own writing and I thought I might share with you a quote from Evelyn Waugh regarding his own writing:
"I regard writing not as an investigation of character but as an exercise in the use of language, and with this I am obsessed. I have no technical psychological interest. It is drama, speech and events that interest me."
And it got me thinking about the way this little project is going to get itself writ. I tend to be someone who starts writing the plot or script first and begins thinking about the characters who will inhabit the world next - it's not that I don't care about character; it's that I'm often preoccupied with exploring ideas and themes using film language first and thinking about the characters in the way they can represent those themes and ideas.
I've discovered mainly through my time in Manchester and witnessing the way my classmates approached writing and filmmaking and I definitely agree that characters in themselves need to be grounded in something real - they need to feel like fully realised people in order for the audience to engage with the themes, ideas and film as a whole. But I've also learned, thanks to fellers like Tarantino, Hitchcock and Waugh, that it's ok to think about structure first, and even vice versa. This is a free country after all!
So my question to the wider world is, how do you write? How do you want to write? Do you work to a formula to think through your ideas or do you just purge onto the computer? Do you like that imagery of vomiting up words?
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The Pursuit of Happiness Just Seems a Bore
1. INT. OFFICE. MORNING
A small yet industrious office is bustling. People are arriving and sitting down to their work. Others are chatting in the tea room. We pass by the cubicles, noting interesting items on desks. On one desk sits a plaque that reads: 'One of these days I gotta get myself organizized'
We stop at an occupied desk. There sits a girl in her early 20s, very well-dressed - and we're talking high street brands all the way here, appears to be on the phone. A flooded in-tray threatens to flood her desk, which would take out a framed photograph sitting on her computer's monitor.
We close in on the girl in order to catch her conversation.
We hear a beep on the phone, followed by an automated voice.
Rebecca hears this and her eyes widen. She quickly tries to re-record the greeting.
A small yet industrious office is bustling. People are arriving and sitting down to their work. Others are chatting in the tea room. We pass by the cubicles, noting interesting items on desks. On one desk sits a plaque that reads: 'One of these days I gotta get myself organizized'
We stop at an occupied desk. There sits a girl in her early 20s, very well-dressed - and we're talking high street brands all the way here, appears to be on the phone. A flooded in-tray threatens to flood her desk, which would take out a framed photograph sitting on her computer's monitor.
We close in on the girl in order to catch her conversation.
REBECCA
Hello, you've reached Rebecca Gibbons, Marketing Officer for -
She looks up at her computer, and sees an appointment on her work calendar.
REBECCA
- oh, for fuck's sakes. This sucks.
- oh, for fuck's sakes. This sucks.
We hear a beep on the phone, followed by an automated voice.
VOICEMAIL MESSAGE
Greeting saved.
Rebecca hears this and her eyes widen. She quickly tries to re-record the greeting.
***
This is something I had in mind for an episode that I'm tentatively calling The Dare. I've blogged about this idea in an earlier post; about the housemates acting like children for a week. I've also been thinking a lot about Rebecca and some of the themes she represents. I think that she can be quite a reserved person and something extreme would have to occur for her to let loose in this way.
I was at a staff retreat last week and I think that I would like to recreate (and exaggerate) moments from it. Not least because it totally reminded me of the training day episode of The Office. Sadly no one quit. Perhaps luckily, no one asked any of us out on a date, mistakenly thinking we'd split with our partner. This is just a rough draft and I wrote it several minutes before this. And I'm writing it under the influence of many cold and flu tablets, an annoying phlegmy cough and a crap runny nose, so it's possibly a big pile of crap, but hey - that's where you come in, dear readers (ok, Jessica)!
A couple of notes: I wanted to give Rebecca a name that referenced a famous character who has lived through office politics for comic effect. I felt Canterbury would be too obvious and looked toward Office Space. The protagonist of that absolute gem of a film is named Peter Gibbons.
The plaque that reads 'one of these days I gotta get myself organizized' is a reference to Taxi Driver. Do I need to elaborate on that?
Also, as always, the script formatting in this post is no reflection of my ignorance of, well, script formatting. It's the best I can do after copying and pasting from CeltX. K? Alright.
Not sure where to go next. I would like to do an episode more or less centred on Rebecca. I do like the idea of using one particular character to introduce a theme that will affect everyone. I think The Dare will be Rebecca's introduction of a theme, just as I see Francis doing the same in The Great Goldstein and both Dan and Sam in our pilot. But this is merely a jumping off point to start negotiations, if I may quote Cher Horowitz. And I may.
Watch this and marvel at how at just 15, Dakota Fanning wins at life more than you.
- S
Thursday, July 15, 2010
I Was Looking For a Job and Then I Found a Job...
...and Heaven knows I'm miserable now. Corporate nonsense has been one of the themes I want to explore in The Innocents. It's a double-edged sword because there are some humorous moments at work, but sadly they are few and far between. The incidents of tears in the office are much closer together. But my job has inspired me, so maybe I should be happy, right? Erm...
It pays my way but corodes my soul
As I've mentioned before, Rebecca is very much based on my feelings about my studies and my current job. But I have a friend who works as a marketing coordinator and it got me thinking that perhaps Rebecca works in a similar area - but her position is completely bereft of any real authority. Perhaps she applied for a job thinking she would be The Marketing officer, only to be told that she's merely A Marketing officer.
I like the idea that Rebecca is working in a field similar to her undergraduate degree but completely uncreative compared to her studies. While I feel frustrated because my job has little to no relevance to my study and chosen career path, I think that for many people, this is what happens when we leave university - we head into jobs based on our study but soon realise it's nothing like what we thought. And usually we continue to hear stories about classmates who have gone straight from study to an amazing job and it makes us feel even more inadequate.
Rebecca's job is most likely mostly admin - emails, phone calls, listening to people whinge at her instead of talking to her bosses and having her bosses on her back about ridiculous things.
Rebecca's friends from uni will mostly likely be girls and guys she studied with, and even though they all get along really well, they still feel a competitive streak and approach their friendships they way they approach their work. They're much happier selling the image that they're succeeding in life. They're friends you'd go to brunch or cocktails with once a month, not the kind of friends to confide in. And because Rebecca internalises stress and has no one to offload to, her stress manifests itself in different ways.
She resorts to things like online shopping and self-help, and buys chocolate she never eats. I imagine her yelling at Samantha one day and calling her selfish because she isn't home to sign for one of Rebecca's parcels. I'm also toying with the idea of her becoming obssessed with a 24 hour gym and not going before 3am to work out.
While she is ambitious on one hand, she avoids thinking about investment in her future. She won't apply for a credit card or phone plan or even think about a personal loan for a car or similar because she can't stand the idea having to stay in her current job for a long period of time. She hates the thought of being trapped there for the rest of her life.
Any opportunity, however remotely creative, to use her former skills is something Rebecca throws herself into. She will engineer the housewarming party and put in a ridiculous amount of work, treating it as a PR exercise.
Making Christmas Cards with the Mentally Ill
I get along particularly well with two of my colleagues and they have inspired some fun times in the office. One of my workmates plays indoor soccer and his grand final was a couple of weeks ago. On the Monday, someone asked him if his team won and he said, "Well, no. But the last time we played that team they beat us 7-0 and this time they only beat us 4-0. So I feel it was a moral victory for us." I would love one of our characters to participate in some kind of competitive sport to use that gem.
We now have to email our leave dates to everyone in the office, so we all know when people are off and what we need to do (if anything) to compensate. One of my workmates, upon hearing me say I was going to use the bathroom (I say I'm going wee wees - very professional), made me email it to her for her approval.
...and now for something completely different
In a series of ridiculous paternal humour (or in layman's terms - dad jokes), I came up with a few I hadn't shared already (but if I have already it only adds to the comedic power of the dad joke, as they are always repeated).
I went to the cinema with a friend a few weeks ago and our seats were T-19 and T-20. I mentioned that it would be pretty bad if we got seat T-1000 and she looked at me blankly. I explained the T-1000 is what the Terminator model is called in The Terminator. That joke doesn't really even make sense. So I feel it stands alongside the Google is my Homepage joke of the previous post.
About a month ago I was conversing on MSN (yes, I'm in my late 20s and I still use MSN. Moreover, I still call it MSN) with a friend who said she'd bought a pair of vegetarian shoes. Me, in full dad joke mode - sends a message that says: so, I guess they don't eat the tongue. Yes. I am that awesome.
I feel I should have more to share but I think this is a vast improvement. This time last week I felt more like washing a bottle of nurofen down with a bottle of vodka than updating this blog with ideas, so baby steps, friends. Baby steps.
Watch this - it's good for you.
P.S. - the decision to use lyrics from two different songs by the Smiths is a conscious artistic decision. A conscious decision to be a wanker.
It pays my way but corodes my soul
As I've mentioned before, Rebecca is very much based on my feelings about my studies and my current job. But I have a friend who works as a marketing coordinator and it got me thinking that perhaps Rebecca works in a similar area - but her position is completely bereft of any real authority. Perhaps she applied for a job thinking she would be The Marketing officer, only to be told that she's merely A Marketing officer.
I like the idea that Rebecca is working in a field similar to her undergraduate degree but completely uncreative compared to her studies. While I feel frustrated because my job has little to no relevance to my study and chosen career path, I think that for many people, this is what happens when we leave university - we head into jobs based on our study but soon realise it's nothing like what we thought. And usually we continue to hear stories about classmates who have gone straight from study to an amazing job and it makes us feel even more inadequate.
Rebecca's job is most likely mostly admin - emails, phone calls, listening to people whinge at her instead of talking to her bosses and having her bosses on her back about ridiculous things.
Rebecca's friends from uni will mostly likely be girls and guys she studied with, and even though they all get along really well, they still feel a competitive streak and approach their friendships they way they approach their work. They're much happier selling the image that they're succeeding in life. They're friends you'd go to brunch or cocktails with once a month, not the kind of friends to confide in. And because Rebecca internalises stress and has no one to offload to, her stress manifests itself in different ways.
She resorts to things like online shopping and self-help, and buys chocolate she never eats. I imagine her yelling at Samantha one day and calling her selfish because she isn't home to sign for one of Rebecca's parcels. I'm also toying with the idea of her becoming obssessed with a 24 hour gym and not going before 3am to work out.
While she is ambitious on one hand, she avoids thinking about investment in her future. She won't apply for a credit card or phone plan or even think about a personal loan for a car or similar because she can't stand the idea having to stay in her current job for a long period of time. She hates the thought of being trapped there for the rest of her life.
Any opportunity, however remotely creative, to use her former skills is something Rebecca throws herself into. She will engineer the housewarming party and put in a ridiculous amount of work, treating it as a PR exercise.
Making Christmas Cards with the Mentally Ill
I get along particularly well with two of my colleagues and they have inspired some fun times in the office. One of my workmates plays indoor soccer and his grand final was a couple of weeks ago. On the Monday, someone asked him if his team won and he said, "Well, no. But the last time we played that team they beat us 7-0 and this time they only beat us 4-0. So I feel it was a moral victory for us." I would love one of our characters to participate in some kind of competitive sport to use that gem.
We now have to email our leave dates to everyone in the office, so we all know when people are off and what we need to do (if anything) to compensate. One of my workmates, upon hearing me say I was going to use the bathroom (I say I'm going wee wees - very professional), made me email it to her for her approval.
...and now for something completely different
In a series of ridiculous paternal humour (or in layman's terms - dad jokes), I came up with a few I hadn't shared already (but if I have already it only adds to the comedic power of the dad joke, as they are always repeated).
I went to the cinema with a friend a few weeks ago and our seats were T-19 and T-20. I mentioned that it would be pretty bad if we got seat T-1000 and she looked at me blankly. I explained the T-1000 is what the Terminator model is called in The Terminator. That joke doesn't really even make sense. So I feel it stands alongside the Google is my Homepage joke of the previous post.
About a month ago I was conversing on MSN (yes, I'm in my late 20s and I still use MSN. Moreover, I still call it MSN) with a friend who said she'd bought a pair of vegetarian shoes. Me, in full dad joke mode - sends a message that says: so, I guess they don't eat the tongue. Yes. I am that awesome.
I feel I should have more to share but I think this is a vast improvement. This time last week I felt more like washing a bottle of nurofen down with a bottle of vodka than updating this blog with ideas, so baby steps, friends. Baby steps.
Watch this - it's good for you.
P.S. - the decision to use lyrics from two different songs by the Smiths is a conscious artistic decision. A conscious decision to be a wanker.
Friday, July 2, 2010
But my faith in love is still devout
Yes, much like Backstreet, I am back. And I daresay the time between posts was much longer than the time between pop releases from the aforementioned Backstreet Boys.
And in the same way we all questioned their whereabouts while they were gone, I'm sure you've been wondering where we've been during our hiatus. You're also probably wondering how far I'll take this whole Backstreet Boys thing.
I'll just say that sometimes online shopping is easier after 35 hours of stress a week than trying to stay creatively motivated and I apologise, dear Readers (Reader). I can't afford to be as creatively uninspired as I have been. Topshop has a new collection...back.
I'm still sort of working on the basic structure of our Great Gatsby homage, so that episode I feel is getting closer to being ready for first draft status. But more character work is required, I feel.
In the meantime, here's some random scribblings and vague, half-formed musings.
I came up with a really lame joke and I thought a character could think it's hilarious, even though it's completely dated.
Remember those 'Jesus is my Homeboy' and 'Mary is my Homegirl' t-shirts? Wouldn't it be hilarious to have a shirt that says, 'Google is my Homepage'? Ha? Geddit? See? Ha - humph.
I get a kick out of awkward situations I'm not really part of, and awkward jokes are quite hilarious. It's why I tell so many of them.
A Short History of the World
Eventually I suppose we'll have to write a pilot and introduce the shit out of our main characters. I've been thinking more about the Gatsby episode and to me that feels like it's episode three or four. Yes, I think about the order of episodes. You gotta, am I right? Am I right?
So, I'm thinking:
We start with Samantha's weird dream (see post with section marked Zonkeys on the Gaza Strip), and we see her room filled with boxes marked 'clothes and shit', 'books and shit,' etc. Then she sees her sister sneaking out of the house to go to school.
Stuff happens, she moves in, blanks to be filled in with the assistance of my colleague.
But I thought: could Sam's stuff end up in another state? Say she splashes out on removalists and they take it to a city interstate with the same name?
the last scenes over the end credits could be of the removal van driving along a country road, stopping at a farm and leaving Sam's boxes on the front verandah?
I had an idea for the structure of the episode. Surely you mean the Three Act Structure, you all cry out. Well, yes, I suppose so, if you want to be boring and...conventional...sigh. No. I mean, how we construct the narrative and by that I mean, which film are we going to steal from to base our episode on.
Could we start with a housewarming party as the frame for the story of how our protagonists moved in, by recounting how each of them got to the party? Yes, a reference to the film Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang. Incidentally, that is what my American friend and I would both like to do to Robert Downey, Jr. The magic of a student exchange really is finding people from all over the world with the same interests.
United States of S
The two characters I feel are different versions of myself are most definitely Samantha and Rebecca. Samantha is the frustrated writer in me, who wants to write but struggles to feel creatively motivated and lives in constant fear that her desire to write is completely unequal to her actual talent. While Rebecca is the unwitting career girl in me, who enjoys the security of a steady income but is frustrated by the monotony of working in a job she's not passionate about, and being drawn into the politics of a workplace she doesn't see herself being part of in the long-term.
I wanted to combine some of my coping strategies - online shopping and Facebook - with the ones I imagine Rebecca would use - like sitting in the toilets and crying on her lunch break. And working in admin, I've come to realise that meetings and forums and office gossip are great material for writers. Just ask Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. I thought that maybe Rebecca's obssessions outside of work would change as each coping mechanism becomes unsatisfying. We were talking about 24 hour gyms and I thought this could be a new thing for her to try. Maybe laughing therapy or Tai Chi as well.
So...I really thought I had more to offer after all these weeks than that, but here we are. End of inspiration. Or is it? I hope not.
Have you always wanted Kraftwerk to cover Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen? Of course you have! Watch this and your dreams will come true.
And in the same way we all questioned their whereabouts while they were gone, I'm sure you've been wondering where we've been during our hiatus. You're also probably wondering how far I'll take this whole Backstreet Boys thing.
I'll just say that sometimes online shopping is easier after 35 hours of stress a week than trying to stay creatively motivated and I apologise, dear Readers (Reader). I can't afford to be as creatively uninspired as I have been. Topshop has a new collection...back.
I'm still sort of working on the basic structure of our Great Gatsby homage, so that episode I feel is getting closer to being ready for first draft status. But more character work is required, I feel.
In the meantime, here's some random scribblings and vague, half-formed musings.
I came up with a really lame joke and I thought a character could think it's hilarious, even though it's completely dated.
Remember those 'Jesus is my Homeboy' and 'Mary is my Homegirl' t-shirts? Wouldn't it be hilarious to have a shirt that says, 'Google is my Homepage'? Ha? Geddit? See? Ha - humph.
I get a kick out of awkward situations I'm not really part of, and awkward jokes are quite hilarious. It's why I tell so many of them.
A Short History of the World
Eventually I suppose we'll have to write a pilot and introduce the shit out of our main characters. I've been thinking more about the Gatsby episode and to me that feels like it's episode three or four. Yes, I think about the order of episodes. You gotta, am I right? Am I right?
So, I'm thinking:
We start with Samantha's weird dream (see post with section marked Zonkeys on the Gaza Strip), and we see her room filled with boxes marked 'clothes and shit', 'books and shit,' etc. Then she sees her sister sneaking out of the house to go to school.
Stuff happens, she moves in, blanks to be filled in with the assistance of my colleague.
But I thought: could Sam's stuff end up in another state? Say she splashes out on removalists and they take it to a city interstate with the same name?
the last scenes over the end credits could be of the removal van driving along a country road, stopping at a farm and leaving Sam's boxes on the front verandah?
I had an idea for the structure of the episode. Surely you mean the Three Act Structure, you all cry out. Well, yes, I suppose so, if you want to be boring and...conventional...sigh. No. I mean, how we construct the narrative and by that I mean, which film are we going to steal from to base our episode on.
Could we start with a housewarming party as the frame for the story of how our protagonists moved in, by recounting how each of them got to the party? Yes, a reference to the film Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang. Incidentally, that is what my American friend and I would both like to do to Robert Downey, Jr. The magic of a student exchange really is finding people from all over the world with the same interests.
United States of S
The two characters I feel are different versions of myself are most definitely Samantha and Rebecca. Samantha is the frustrated writer in me, who wants to write but struggles to feel creatively motivated and lives in constant fear that her desire to write is completely unequal to her actual talent. While Rebecca is the unwitting career girl in me, who enjoys the security of a steady income but is frustrated by the monotony of working in a job she's not passionate about, and being drawn into the politics of a workplace she doesn't see herself being part of in the long-term.
I wanted to combine some of my coping strategies - online shopping and Facebook - with the ones I imagine Rebecca would use - like sitting in the toilets and crying on her lunch break. And working in admin, I've come to realise that meetings and forums and office gossip are great material for writers. Just ask Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. I thought that maybe Rebecca's obssessions outside of work would change as each coping mechanism becomes unsatisfying. We were talking about 24 hour gyms and I thought this could be a new thing for her to try. Maybe laughing therapy or Tai Chi as well.
So...I really thought I had more to offer after all these weeks than that, but here we are. End of inspiration. Or is it? I hope not.
Have you always wanted Kraftwerk to cover Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen? Of course you have! Watch this and your dreams will come true.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel too.
Ok, so I was feeling a little precious about my writing, but I realised I'd forgotten what the intention of the blog was. I'm sorry, blog. I'll never hide anything from you again. I know, I know, that's what Serena always says in Gossip Girl and is forgiven by her current boyfriend only to do it again season after season, but you can trust me, blog. I'm not a fictional blonde socialite belonging to Manhattan's elite...is Gossip Girl on tonight?
I digress. As previously mentioned, The Great Gatsby episode for me seems to be writing itself. The other night some inspiration struck and I wrote a scene for this episode, kind of commenting on that thin line between reality and critique, crap versus crap-on-purpose, in other, smaller words. My colleague, Laurie to my Fry, if you will (unless you'd prefer to be Fry. I'm not picky) and his concept of Cheap was just such a perfect location to explore this idea. Not only that, but the kind of people that have been making their way about our town seemed to fall under this idea as well. I call them scenesters. Do NOT get Hey Scenesters by the Cribs get into your head, by the way. It might never get out. Very dangerous.
If you want to get really pretentious about it I suppose it's an exporation of Baudrillard's Simulacra - the idea of objective reality being essentially a nonexistent thing, that we exist only in the realm of the image. I think modern culture could be seen as an example of this, but anyway. I'll stop lest I cross the line from being pretentious to misinformed. Warhol references entirely welcome. But I'll let Laurie go into more detail about that particular tidbit.
So I've written a couple of scenes for this episode and in the spirit of throwing my creative output into the void, I thought I would share them with you, John Q Public. Oh, and other people can read it, too. See what I did there?
Please to enjoy, copied and pasted almost directly from Celtx itself, or in other words - this is why the format is shite and I gave up trying to format it and everything is aligned to the left even though that's not standard...oh, just read it and shut me up.
INT. CHEAP. NIGHT
Samantha is stuck between three male scenesters drinking red wine. They are all wearing the same black glasses. Samantha is staring at one of them. SCENESTER 1 is making some sort of statement.
I mean, there really is this idea that this underground arts scene is merely a group of children with no deeper understanding of popular culture than what is operating purely on the level of image. Which is just...so...disingenuous?
My thoughts?
DANIEL
I digress. As previously mentioned, The Great Gatsby episode for me seems to be writing itself. The other night some inspiration struck and I wrote a scene for this episode, kind of commenting on that thin line between reality and critique, crap versus crap-on-purpose, in other, smaller words. My colleague, Laurie to my Fry, if you will (unless you'd prefer to be Fry. I'm not picky) and his concept of Cheap was just such a perfect location to explore this idea. Not only that, but the kind of people that have been making their way about our town seemed to fall under this idea as well. I call them scenesters. Do NOT get Hey Scenesters by the Cribs get into your head, by the way. It might never get out. Very dangerous.
If you want to get really pretentious about it I suppose it's an exporation of Baudrillard's Simulacra - the idea of objective reality being essentially a nonexistent thing, that we exist only in the realm of the image. I think modern culture could be seen as an example of this, but anyway. I'll stop lest I cross the line from being pretentious to misinformed. Warhol references entirely welcome. But I'll let Laurie go into more detail about that particular tidbit.
So I've written a couple of scenes for this episode and in the spirit of throwing my creative output into the void, I thought I would share them with you, John Q Public. Oh, and other people can read it, too. See what I did there?
Please to enjoy, copied and pasted almost directly from Celtx itself, or in other words - this is why the format is shite and I gave up trying to format it and everything is aligned to the left even though that's not standard...oh, just read it and shut me up.
INT. CHEAP. NIGHT
Samantha is stuck between three male scenesters drinking red wine. They are all wearing the same black glasses. Samantha is staring at one of them. SCENESTER 1 is making some sort of statement.
SCENESTER 1
I mean, there really is this idea that this underground arts scene is merely a group of children with no deeper understanding of popular culture than what is operating purely on the level of image. Which is just...so...disingenuous?
He turns to Samantha.
SCENESTER 1
What are your thoughts.
Sam stops staring at his glasses.
SAMANTHA
My thoughts?
She says nothing for a while, appearing to struggle with the topic.
SAMANTHA
I think that...I have to go to the bathroom. For a while.
She walks away.
EXT. CHEAP - BATHROOM. NIGHT
Samantha sees Daniel fowllowing her into the bathroom.
SAMANTHA
What are you doing?
DANIEL
Oh, apparently gender is arbitrary, so the bathrooms don't have signs on the door. You choose which one you feel comfortable using.
SAMANTHA
Oh, Jesus.
They walk in.
INT. CHEAP - BATHROOM. NIGHT.
Samantha and Daniel continue their conversation within their respective cubicles, while we wait outside.
DANIEL
So I've heard five times now that this place is a 'venue with a sense of humour, and it's a biting comment on society's concept of worth.'
SAMANTHA
Oh, I thought it was a biting comment on the concept of wanker.
DANIEL
How has your experience been tonight, Samantha?
SAMANTHA
Well, I've heard several regulars in the Sydney social pages talking about throwing up their ridiculously overpriced meal. And I just had to listen to scenesters talking about how they've been wrongly labelled as a group believing they are the self-appointed cultural elite obssessed when in reality they appear to have no deeper understanding of popular culture than the image, or some bullshit like that. God, I swear none of the people wearing glasses out there have lenses in them.
Toilets flush and Samantha leaves the cubicle, only to be confronted by Scenester 1. He doesn't look impressed.
SAMANTHA
Bathroom's free.
She moves around him, going to wash her hands in the trough. Daniel walks out.
SAMANTHA
I'd call them pretentious hipsters, but surely to be pretentious you have to know what you're talking about. You can't pretend to know, then google it later on your iPhone when the smarter person you've been talking to walks away. Or liking Jack Kerouac's On The Road on Facebook and never cracking the cover.
DANIEL
But you've never read On The Road.
SAMANTHA
Yes, but it's on my Visual Bookshelf as 'Want to read.' There's a difference, Dan.
DANIEL
Hmm.
Oliver walks in and looks confused.
OLIVER
What are you doing in here?
SAMANTHA
Oh, gender is a construct, Ol. It's arbitrary. You can use whatever bathroom you like.
OLIVER
Uh, no, the sign's just fallen off.
He points to where Samantha and Daniel are standing.
OLIVER
That's not a washbasin.
They stare at it, and realise it's a urinal, much like the boy's bathroom in a public school.
SAMANTHA
Oh.
So I know this is a very rough draft and I'm using character names that aren't set in stone yet and etc. VERY FIRST DRAFT. Blanket approval to be slightly crap.
The only thing I'm not certain about is - I have a scenester voicing perhaps a criticique of his own scene in quite an intelligent way and Samantha, in relating the conversation back to Daniel essentially just echoes his argument to ridicule him, but it seems like an interesting point for him to make. I guess that could possibly be explained by him quoting an online news article word for word, checking it every now and then on his iPhone, or Blackberry or similar?
Also, it's undeniably modern, which is something I think we'll be playing with in the future and again I must defer to my colleague on this point. So I guess the direction I'm heading has the potential to date our series and the writing quite severely. Then again, if done well it can be film as archive rather than something dated and irrelevant and still speak to the modern age even if it is a pronounced snapshot of a particular era in time...much like The Great Gatsby itself...oh, Mylanta I'm so clever!
So anyway, speaking of undiscovered genius, I think Australians have been sorely underexposed to a pop phenomenon the United Kingdom has been enjoying and keeping to itself for far too long. But all that's about to change. May I present to you...
JEDWARD
I know what you're thinking. But they're not just a treat for your eyes, they're also a treat for your ears. Fully endorsed by the intellectual elite among my friends. Start gettin' acquainted, Australia.
- S
Friday, March 19, 2010
There was an underwater guy who controlled the sea...
It's been a little quiet of late on the ole Hell front. When you're collaborating on a project, obviously there are moments that look, smell and feel like a brick wall.
But no, messieurs-dames, they are not brick walls. Maybe foam. While my good colleague is touring Europa and the Americas, I thought that in the interim I could share my half-formed ideas and perhaps see how they might fit into our little puzzle of awesome.
The Zonkeys
When I spent time in London...Ok, that is just the wankiest way to start a sentence ever. When I was in London and bored inside my tiny little hotel room in Victoria (which I loved, by the way), I saw a news report on Zoos on the Gaza Strip that had been affected by the conflict. Because it's getting harder to get animals, some of them have had to resort to alternatives. Besides the usual black market and smuggling ideas, they decided that if they couldn't get zebras then maybe they could get some Wella hair dye and some donkeys...
This in itself is an awesome idea. Then I thought about a traumatic experience I had at a zoo involving donkeys (let me just say this: when a donkey licks your shoulder, run.) and felt it could form the basis for an exploration of Samantha's relationship with her mother. In a a series of strange dreams, Sam could experience her childhood memories of her mother in an abstract way and after perhaps consulting Cleo, understand her and her mother's strained relationship. Sam wants to be closer to her parents and have the childhood she sees in film and television, but everytime she tries, she remembers that her parents are indifferent and it hurts all over again, forcing her to seek new familial arrangements. Like her new flatmates.
I had the idea that in one of these dream, Sam's mum Diane would take her to a zoo. It's a darkened room with cages. The lighting gives it a film noir feel. They wander over to cages and Sam finds that all the animals are actually just people in animal suits. They look bored. Diane leads her over to someone dressed as a zebra and makes her pose near it. Sam is afraid, but her mother forces her. The camera clicks and Sam wakes up. On her night-stand is a photo of a little girl posing with a zebra.
WWCPD (What Would Camille Paglia Do)?
I am very publicly in favour of Lady Gaga. I never used to be. I thought she was a dickhead and her fame would be about as long as one of her hemlines. Then she wore that Kermit the Frog jacket and matching hat and it hit me: she is a genius.
She has many detractors. Among them people I respect and admire. But one of my work colleagues keeps saying that she's a bad role model for young women. And it's really starting to grind my gears. Yes, the thought that little girls are receiving a message that it's ok to dress like a skank and talk about sex is a little alarming. That part of Gaga's persona could be what's worrying him. But to that I say - parental control.
While he never really elaborates on exactly what about Gaga makes her a bad role model, he fails to mention the fact that she's a strong woman who is successful in her own right (she's classically trained - she went to Julliard or Tisch or somewhere like that and she's been working as a songwriter), seems in control of her own image and is supportive of the gay community. An open-minded, strong, independent, and talented woman is a bad role model for young women? Ok, sure, have it your way.
I know the ole Gag seems a little allergic to pants or even clothes at times, but isn't it another form of repression to tell women who they can and can't be empowered by? And why isn't it ever mentioned in discussions like this that all of these male R'n'B singers can feature scantily clad women in their videos and treat them like objects and even write songs about women, degrading them, and not be singled out as being bad role models for young men?
Camille Paglia, a writer on gender studies, would probably like Lady Gaga a lot. She's a woman who's all for women being allowed to express their sexuality. I think some of these narrow-minded pseudo-feminist gentlemen (and some women - like the idiot who wrote the incredibly editorial piece on Lady Gaga's video for 'Telephone' for the Australian) should read a little more Paglia and get some perspective on the ways in which sexuality is expressed through popular culture (and don't just watch that episode of American Dad when Hayley becomes a stripper. By all means watch it, but if you read Paglia first then watch it you can giggle, smug in the knowledge that you understand a pop culture reference).
I had an idea that Cleo could be fuming about a classmate or lecturer in one of her psychology courses dealing with gender while getting ready to go out. Depending on when we finally nail this sucker down and put it on the ole cathode ray tube, we could discuss Gaga or some other pop star flaunting her bits in music videos. She could be talking about how men shouldn't be allowed to tell women who they can and can't be empowered by. She goes to go out only half-dressed. The guys could tell her she's not wearing any pants and she will laugh, expressing how embarrassing that would be before proceeding to put on hot pants that are only marginally longer than her underwear and heading out the door.
I know this seems like an ambivalent attitude toward women who dress in this way, because I think all women feel ambivalent about it. We respect and admire celebrities brave enough to dress the way they want and take risks, but when we see someone doing it in society we tend to criticise them. I think there's also the idea that you dress for your age and young women can get away with stuff and older women can't. Also, we all think that only thin girls should wear whatever they like. It's our ambivalent attitude toward ourselves and fashion that allows for this kind of debate over whether Gaga is a fashion icon or just a whorily-dressed moron. And I think that art should be the form through which we express our internal struggles as well as our external ones in society. And also be funny. And I like that Cleo has all of these wonderful insights into society but still sometimes behaves like the sort of young girl that a lot of people would dismiss as being an airhead.
It's all mental masturbation.
I was watching Annie Hall for the Nth time not long ago and I realised; here is an opportunity to steal from a man who's already been stolen from numerous times. It's the awkward first date between Woody Allen's Alvy Singer and Diane Keaton's Annie Hall. They're at her apartment and they discuss her attempts at photography. Both desperate to impress one another, they begin having this incredibly pretentious discussion about photography. In subtitles, we see what they're thinking as they talk - Alvy wonders why the hell he's saying all of this stuff to her, while Annie thinks she has no idea what she's talking about and is afraid he'll realise it. The point is, they're both trying to show the other how knowledgeable about art they are and both think they have no idea what they're talking about - a common occurrence whenever I begin to talk about art.
I think this discussion fits in with our characters and our thematic concerns, and also our reflexive attitude toward our chosen medium. Which is just a fancy way of saying that we want to reveal our favourite artists within our own art. Which is still a fancy way of saying we want to steal from other films and television shows.
The Blueprint
Yes, I finally realise that Jay-Z is some kind of genius. He really must stop producing crazy, great tunes about New York when I'm obssessed with the Big Apple right now. I have an idea for a feature film that's sort of an exploration of the idle rich and the costs associated with being involved and being cast out. Yeah, because no one has ever done that and isn't right now on television...ahem. In my research I've discovered that almost all of the stories I'm reading and watching take place in New York or at the very least a city like New York. Like Paris. I feel like Sydney might be a prime location for an examination of these people and again, the Great Gatsby is figuring pretty large in my influences. Which brings me back to the episode I'm still getting more ideas for than any other: The Great Goldstein (strictly a working title, promise.)
So, I'm thinking the episode starts with the flatmates getting ready for an exhibition of an up-and-coming avant garde artist's collection at a hip new cafe called Cheap. Francis gets to talking about the weird day he's had involving an elderly woman essentially revealing her life story to him at a bus stop. It isn't an uncommon occurrence, either. Cue montage of moments in which people have confided in Francis whether he wanted them to or not. (could we use Hitler Youth outfit here?).
The exhibition is full of wankers and posers and our heroes make fun of the assortment of idiots present. Francis gets separated, having an awkward run-in with the frontman of a scenester band enjoying some inexplicable fame and bumps into an awkward young woman. He begins talking about the artist whose exhibiting her work, D'Arcy.
From their viewpoint Sam and Dan see that he is talking to D'Arcy, the artist.
Meanwhile, Francis and D'Arcy seem to hit it off and have a brief attachment. Not sure whether it would be a romantic dalliance. Perhaps simply a mutual admiration of the other's ability to make them feel comfortable, a la Gatsby and Carraway.
Anyway, that's all I have for the moment. Speaking of things that should be on television right now, why hasn't this enjoyed a return to our lives via Foxtel?
- S
But no, messieurs-dames, they are not brick walls. Maybe foam. While my good colleague is touring Europa and the Americas, I thought that in the interim I could share my half-formed ideas and perhaps see how they might fit into our little puzzle of awesome.
The Zonkeys
When I spent time in London...Ok, that is just the wankiest way to start a sentence ever. When I was in London and bored inside my tiny little hotel room in Victoria (which I loved, by the way), I saw a news report on Zoos on the Gaza Strip that had been affected by the conflict. Because it's getting harder to get animals, some of them have had to resort to alternatives. Besides the usual black market and smuggling ideas, they decided that if they couldn't get zebras then maybe they could get some Wella hair dye and some donkeys...
This in itself is an awesome idea. Then I thought about a traumatic experience I had at a zoo involving donkeys (let me just say this: when a donkey licks your shoulder, run.) and felt it could form the basis for an exploration of Samantha's relationship with her mother. In a a series of strange dreams, Sam could experience her childhood memories of her mother in an abstract way and after perhaps consulting Cleo, understand her and her mother's strained relationship. Sam wants to be closer to her parents and have the childhood she sees in film and television, but everytime she tries, she remembers that her parents are indifferent and it hurts all over again, forcing her to seek new familial arrangements. Like her new flatmates.
I had the idea that in one of these dream, Sam's mum Diane would take her to a zoo. It's a darkened room with cages. The lighting gives it a film noir feel. They wander over to cages and Sam finds that all the animals are actually just people in animal suits. They look bored. Diane leads her over to someone dressed as a zebra and makes her pose near it. Sam is afraid, but her mother forces her. The camera clicks and Sam wakes up. On her night-stand is a photo of a little girl posing with a zebra.
WWCPD (What Would Camille Paglia Do)?
I am very publicly in favour of Lady Gaga. I never used to be. I thought she was a dickhead and her fame would be about as long as one of her hemlines. Then she wore that Kermit the Frog jacket and matching hat and it hit me: she is a genius.
She has many detractors. Among them people I respect and admire. But one of my work colleagues keeps saying that she's a bad role model for young women. And it's really starting to grind my gears. Yes, the thought that little girls are receiving a message that it's ok to dress like a skank and talk about sex is a little alarming. That part of Gaga's persona could be what's worrying him. But to that I say - parental control.
While he never really elaborates on exactly what about Gaga makes her a bad role model, he fails to mention the fact that she's a strong woman who is successful in her own right (she's classically trained - she went to Julliard or Tisch or somewhere like that and she's been working as a songwriter), seems in control of her own image and is supportive of the gay community. An open-minded, strong, independent, and talented woman is a bad role model for young women? Ok, sure, have it your way.
I know the ole Gag seems a little allergic to pants or even clothes at times, but isn't it another form of repression to tell women who they can and can't be empowered by? And why isn't it ever mentioned in discussions like this that all of these male R'n'B singers can feature scantily clad women in their videos and treat them like objects and even write songs about women, degrading them, and not be singled out as being bad role models for young men?
Camille Paglia, a writer on gender studies, would probably like Lady Gaga a lot. She's a woman who's all for women being allowed to express their sexuality. I think some of these narrow-minded pseudo-feminist gentlemen (and some women - like the idiot who wrote the incredibly editorial piece on Lady Gaga's video for 'Telephone' for the Australian) should read a little more Paglia and get some perspective on the ways in which sexuality is expressed through popular culture (and don't just watch that episode of American Dad when Hayley becomes a stripper. By all means watch it, but if you read Paglia first then watch it you can giggle, smug in the knowledge that you understand a pop culture reference).
I had an idea that Cleo could be fuming about a classmate or lecturer in one of her psychology courses dealing with gender while getting ready to go out. Depending on when we finally nail this sucker down and put it on the ole cathode ray tube, we could discuss Gaga or some other pop star flaunting her bits in music videos. She could be talking about how men shouldn't be allowed to tell women who they can and can't be empowered by. She goes to go out only half-dressed. The guys could tell her she's not wearing any pants and she will laugh, expressing how embarrassing that would be before proceeding to put on hot pants that are only marginally longer than her underwear and heading out the door.
I know this seems like an ambivalent attitude toward women who dress in this way, because I think all women feel ambivalent about it. We respect and admire celebrities brave enough to dress the way they want and take risks, but when we see someone doing it in society we tend to criticise them. I think there's also the idea that you dress for your age and young women can get away with stuff and older women can't. Also, we all think that only thin girls should wear whatever they like. It's our ambivalent attitude toward ourselves and fashion that allows for this kind of debate over whether Gaga is a fashion icon or just a whorily-dressed moron. And I think that art should be the form through which we express our internal struggles as well as our external ones in society. And also be funny. And I like that Cleo has all of these wonderful insights into society but still sometimes behaves like the sort of young girl that a lot of people would dismiss as being an airhead.
It's all mental masturbation.
I was watching Annie Hall for the Nth time not long ago and I realised; here is an opportunity to steal from a man who's already been stolen from numerous times. It's the awkward first date between Woody Allen's Alvy Singer and Diane Keaton's Annie Hall. They're at her apartment and they discuss her attempts at photography. Both desperate to impress one another, they begin having this incredibly pretentious discussion about photography. In subtitles, we see what they're thinking as they talk - Alvy wonders why the hell he's saying all of this stuff to her, while Annie thinks she has no idea what she's talking about and is afraid he'll realise it. The point is, they're both trying to show the other how knowledgeable about art they are and both think they have no idea what they're talking about - a common occurrence whenever I begin to talk about art.
I think this discussion fits in with our characters and our thematic concerns, and also our reflexive attitude toward our chosen medium. Which is just a fancy way of saying that we want to reveal our favourite artists within our own art. Which is still a fancy way of saying we want to steal from other films and television shows.
The Blueprint
Yes, I finally realise that Jay-Z is some kind of genius. He really must stop producing crazy, great tunes about New York when I'm obssessed with the Big Apple right now. I have an idea for a feature film that's sort of an exploration of the idle rich and the costs associated with being involved and being cast out. Yeah, because no one has ever done that and isn't right now on television...ahem. In my research I've discovered that almost all of the stories I'm reading and watching take place in New York or at the very least a city like New York. Like Paris. I feel like Sydney might be a prime location for an examination of these people and again, the Great Gatsby is figuring pretty large in my influences. Which brings me back to the episode I'm still getting more ideas for than any other: The Great Goldstein (strictly a working title, promise.)
So, I'm thinking the episode starts with the flatmates getting ready for an exhibition of an up-and-coming avant garde artist's collection at a hip new cafe called Cheap. Francis gets to talking about the weird day he's had involving an elderly woman essentially revealing her life story to him at a bus stop. It isn't an uncommon occurrence, either. Cue montage of moments in which people have confided in Francis whether he wanted them to or not. (could we use Hitler Youth outfit here?).
The exhibition is full of wankers and posers and our heroes make fun of the assortment of idiots present. Francis gets separated, having an awkward run-in with the frontman of a scenester band enjoying some inexplicable fame and bumps into an awkward young woman. He begins talking about the artist whose exhibiting her work, D'Arcy.
From their viewpoint Sam and Dan see that he is talking to D'Arcy, the artist.
Meanwhile, Francis and D'Arcy seem to hit it off and have a brief attachment. Not sure whether it would be a romantic dalliance. Perhaps simply a mutual admiration of the other's ability to make them feel comfortable, a la Gatsby and Carraway.
Anyway, that's all I have for the moment. Speaking of things that should be on television right now, why hasn't this enjoyed a return to our lives via Foxtel?
- S
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
CDs and T-shirts, promos, God knows.
I feel as though we're at a stage I like to call 'early years Charles Foster Kane and Jedediah Leland.' We're idealistic newspapermen, not drunkenly finishing each other's work because one is alcoholic and the other has achieved fame and wealth at the cost of his own morals.
So, the title's looking pretty good - I like The Innocents. A LOT. The characters are starting to become more realised - I think Daniel and Samantha can become our Tim and Daisy quite easily - I can see similarities between their situation in life and their attitude toward it already (more on that later, I feel). And I feel our characters and ideas are informing each other.
With the aid of further character development/brilliance I feel like the Great Gatsby homage is emerging as one story idea that seems to be, well, not writing itself, that would be weird since it's already been written by F. Scott Fitzgerald...erm.
I think Francis, our musician, is our Nick Carraway. I think Dan's willingness to embrace new things (or his need to be willing to embrace new things) makes him an interesting candidate for our Nick, but I felt that Francis would be that person before I knew more about Dan, and I also think that as a struggling musician he'll be drawn to fame and the sort of events that go with it, but he'll secretly hate it and feel apart from it - as an outsider wanting to be on the inside and as someone who can see that it's a shallow, superficial world. I also think his presence as a performer and his non-judgemental air will draw others to him - a lot of people he feels indifferent toward will think the world of him - like Tom Buchanan.
I think D'Arcy, the underground artist, is such an interesting peripheral character and would be perfect as our Gatsby (or Goldstein? Maybe that's her absent surname?) - we don't really learn much about her, as people are perhaps too afraid to talk to her, worried they'll mention her father, or will take such pains as to be unfazed by her that they won't talk to her. And perhaps Francis's nature will lead her to open more than she has before.
This homage definitely has to be a few episodes in, because it's definitely Francis's episode and I feel like, as with any sitcom about young people or single female lawyers or birdlike medical interns, you have to establish your protagonists first. It could be the first time we move our focus from Sam and Dan and their relationship.
Anyways, those are my thoughts on these characters and my love of Fitzgerald. In the meantime, I feel like this will be useful in thinking about D'Arcy and her character.
So, the title's looking pretty good - I like The Innocents. A LOT. The characters are starting to become more realised - I think Daniel and Samantha can become our Tim and Daisy quite easily - I can see similarities between their situation in life and their attitude toward it already (more on that later, I feel). And I feel our characters and ideas are informing each other.
With the aid of further character development/brilliance I feel like the Great Gatsby homage is emerging as one story idea that seems to be, well, not writing itself, that would be weird since it's already been written by F. Scott Fitzgerald...erm.
I think Francis, our musician, is our Nick Carraway. I think Dan's willingness to embrace new things (or his need to be willing to embrace new things) makes him an interesting candidate for our Nick, but I felt that Francis would be that person before I knew more about Dan, and I also think that as a struggling musician he'll be drawn to fame and the sort of events that go with it, but he'll secretly hate it and feel apart from it - as an outsider wanting to be on the inside and as someone who can see that it's a shallow, superficial world. I also think his presence as a performer and his non-judgemental air will draw others to him - a lot of people he feels indifferent toward will think the world of him - like Tom Buchanan.
I think D'Arcy, the underground artist, is such an interesting peripheral character and would be perfect as our Gatsby (or Goldstein? Maybe that's her absent surname?) - we don't really learn much about her, as people are perhaps too afraid to talk to her, worried they'll mention her father, or will take such pains as to be unfazed by her that they won't talk to her. And perhaps Francis's nature will lead her to open more than she has before.
This homage definitely has to be a few episodes in, because it's definitely Francis's episode and I feel like, as with any sitcom about young people or single female lawyers or birdlike medical interns, you have to establish your protagonists first. It could be the first time we move our focus from Sam and Dan and their relationship.
Anyways, those are my thoughts on these characters and my love of Fitzgerald. In the meantime, I feel like this will be useful in thinking about D'Arcy and her character.
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